Disclaimer – I don't own anything regarding Naruto in this fic except my own characters.

Chapter 4 – A walk down the memory lane

3 days after team 7 disbandment…

Kakashi was a man on a mission today. He was going to find out exactly why the ever- punctual Uchiha Sasuke wasn't on the bridge when they had a mission. Sasuke wasn't one to wait or be waited upon. Of course that was when Kakashi wasn't counted.

Kakashi sped through the trees towards the Uchiha compound, the branches he stepped on leaning down with his weight on them, some of them even breaking. Kakashi didn't care that he was making a racket. It didn't matter when Sasuke could sense him coming miles away.

With his beloved Icha Icha Paradise on his left hand while his right hand balancing on random braches he arrived at the compound gates.

He suddenly sensed that something was wrong. Sasuke was standing near the gates with his back turned to Kakashi. But it wasn't that made Kakashi put his Icha Icha novel into his pocket. It was the barrier jutsu cast upon compound limits.

"What happened here Sasuke?" he asked softly hoping to snap Sasuke out of whatever trance he was in. Sasuke hadn't looked at him once since he was arrived.

"He was here Kakashi. I heard him. I don't know how or why. I heard his voice." Sasuke's voice was muffled by the barrier.

"Why don't you drop the barrier? We can both search around and see. Tsunade-sama needs to know this Sasuke. Where's Satoshi?," he inquired while looking around trying to spot the familiar chibi raven.

Kakashi was worried now. He didn't know who exactly Sasuke was talking about. There were only two people who could have had this much of an impact on Sasuke. And he wasn't sure about one of them.

"Sastoshi is still sleeping. I put a sleeping jutsu on him. I've been looking since last night." Sasuke was not a person to talk much. He didn't waste words and disliked to do so. This was one of the very few instances Kakashi had heard Sasuke talk this much.

Ever since he had arrived and his restrictions, Sasuke made a point of keeping only to himself. He didn't trust anyone and believed in no one. The only person he had put his hopes on had left, never to be heard of again. And after that Sasuke clammed up and only answered question when he wanted to, which was very rare.

Kakashi knew that the only reason he was here talking to Sasuke was Satoshi. Sasuke opened up a little after finding his son. Sasuke lived through Satoshi. Just like he had done when 'he' was here.

'This is bad. If he goes into panic mode I won't be able to stop him. Sasuke's daddy-senses are not something to made fun of, kind of like Iruka-chan's mother-hen mode.'

Kakashi was in a dilemma. He didn't know whether to leave Sasuke and bring someone here or sweet talk Sasuke into canceling the barrier. A bunshin can't go far when Sasuke was in one of his moods.

"Sasuke, why don't you lower the barrier? I'll come and help you look for whoever you're looking for. They say that two heads are better than one." He hoped that Sasuke would at least be distracted enough for him to counter the jutsu.

He waited for a few minutes before deciding to go for plan B, which was using force. He was just about to make the hand seals to counter the barrier jutsu when Sasuke turned to face him.

Kakashi was momentarily lost for words or actions. His hands were frozen in a tora hand seal.

Sasuke's looked he had gone through the ANBU trap training field without food, sleep or weapons. His clothes were all crinkled and dirty. Splotches of mud and dirt on his ninja pants and smudges of tree bark, leaves and water and some other unrecognizable things on his ANBU vest.

Kakashi realized with a shock that he was still wearing clothes from the last mission. Kakashi knew what he wore since he was Sasuke's partner in the mission.

Sasuke had black bags under his bloodshot and tired eyes. His face was also streaked with mud and blood. His hair matted with sweat and water.

"What happened here Sasuke? Who was it that you heard?" he asked in a monotone voice while inside he was storming his brain for a possible explanation for this. Sasuke was not one to lose his head. He was always calm and collected in any situation. 'So what exactly happened here?'

"I told you Kakashi. He was here. I heard him. But he's not here now, I want to find him. Help me, sensei. You want him here too ne?" Sasuke's voice was soft when he said this. But it was filled with an emotion Kakashi couldn't decipher. He was shaken to the core when he heard Sasuke call him 'sensei'.

'What is going on here? What the hell happened here?! Why is he acting like this? Could he be an imposter? Maybe subjected to genjutsu? But he has the sharingan and his skills and senses are higher than anyone I know. Maybe he had a nightmare? Somehow that sounds ridiculous even to my head.' Kakashi didn't know what to do. He was shocked to hear and see his prized student like this.

"I'll help you Sasuke; just cancel the jutsu so I can enter the compound. We can both look together. I need to report to Tsunade-sama about this and you need to send Satoshi to the academy. He can't be here when we are searching. He'll get curious." He congratulated on sounding bored and monotone as always when he had a hurricane of thoughts rampaging on his head.

Sasuke nodded his head and cancelled the jutsu. He looked nervous and when Kakashi neared him he saw him twitching at even small sounds.

This is worse than I thought, was the one thing that ran in Kakashi's head when he saw Sasuke twitch and finger his kunai when he heard a small squirrel skittering in a tree.

"Let's go. I need to prepare breakfast for Satoshi also. You send a bunshin to Tsunade." Sasuke said while jumping on to tree and speeding towards the main house.

Kakashi quickly made a bunshin and gave commands before making another bunshin to patrol around the compound before following Sasuke.

Just as they arrived at the main house they were greeted by a sleepy Satoshi clutching a bunny plushy. Kakashi mentally sniggered when he saw this. 'So this was how Sasuke would have turned out if he wasn't an anti-social bastard.' He filed away the incident for future blackmail material.

"Now, care to tell me from the beginning about your little adventure Sasuke? I'm a little confused about what exactly took place." Kakashi grumbled out while picking at the slightly burnt toast Sasuke gave him when Satoshi ambled away after confirming that his father hadn't gone on another mission without telling him.

Sasuke turned away from the stove he was making eggs on to look at Kakashi before turning away again. "You'll have to wait till Satoshi leaves for the academy." He didn't say anything else after that until Satoshi came down after showering and dressing for the academy.

"Otou-sama, daijoubu desu ka? (Father, are you okay?).You look like you didn't sleep last night. Did you have a nightmare Otou-sama? You should drink milk like you tell me to do when I have a nightmare." Satoshi said while trying to stuff the toast and eggs on his mouth.

Kakashi didn't know what to feel when he heard Satoshi talk. He was amused when he saw Sasuke's face twisting as he saw his son trying, without success to talk and eat at once. He was also happy to hear Satoshi voice his concerns about Sasuke. Kami-sama knows how much Sasuke needed someone to tell him that they cared. He was also impressed when Satoshi noted Sasuke's physical change, even when it wasn't obvious.

"I'm fine Satoshi. And how many times do I have to tell you to not to talk while eating. It's a disgusting habit." Sasuke reprimanded his son calmly while trying to block an oncoming headache.

"Gomen Otou-sama, do you want me to stay? I can catch up missed classes quickly. Otou-sama needs someone here. You don't look too well." Satoshi's voice was worried and his chubby face was filled with care for Sasuke.

Kakashi smiled softly under his mask when he saw Satoshi's concern towards Sasuke.

"I'm staying here with Sasuke, Satoshi. You go to school. I'll take care of him" he smiled what he thought to be a convincing smile (even if Satoshi couldn't see his face because of the mask).

Satoshi looked doubtful. "How do I know that you won't make Otou-sama read your hentai books?"

"Yare yare, why does everyone claim them to be hentai books? Who told you that anyway? It's drama, my child, not porn." Kakashi couldn't understand why everyone was against his beloved books. They were the best of the best!

"Porn? What's porn Kakashi-sensei?" Satoshi's innocent voice made him tense. But then he felt a large amount of raw killer intent from his left. Kakashi was scared to look where he knew that Sasuke was sitting.

"Kakashi, would you like to feel how sharp my Kusanagi is?" he seethed while giving off killer intent to roast Kakashi alive.

"Ahahaha… of course not Sasuke. We all know how you love to sharpen it everyday... Ahaha... Satoshi it's getting late? Why don't you run off to school now? You know what Iruka's like when someone is late." Satoshi gulped audibly before hugging his father and yelling goodbye to Kakashi and shooting off like hounds of hell were on his heels.

"Well now, Satoshi's gone, so do mind explaining why you didn't come to the bridge meeting? Or why I found you practically shaking with fear?" Kakashi got an Uchiha death glare when he said this, "and why I need to help you find this mysterious person you're so dead set on finding?" Kakashi calmly asked while sipping the tea Sasuke had set in front of him.

"It was him Kakashi." Sasuke whispered. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. "No, I'm not loosing my mind Kakashi. It was Naruto's voice." Sasuke finished in an almost painful voice, his face showed nothing but his eyes reflected the turmoil his mind was in.

Kakashi held himself from choking on his tea, and instead took the cup in shaking hands and set it on the table, lest Sasuke goes on a rampage because Kakashi broke his favorite tea cup or something.

"Are you sure Sasuke? You know we can't report anything regarding him without proof or Tsunade will have out heads. You know how the subject is around her."

Kakashi was trying to understand his student. He really thought he understood something when Sasuke had to pull this. Kakashi thinking ahead, dispelled his bunshin he had ordered to go to the Hokage. It hadn't gone to the Hokage yet, much to his relief.

Kakashi knew how Naruto's disappearance had depressed Sasuke. It was miracle Sasuke was still in the village. After he had disappeared no one had brought up the subject when the search parties returned without any clue.

They had searched for a whole year before the council had told them to stop the searching. But Tsunade had refused to mark him as a missing nin, claiming Naruto would come back somehow.

It had been almost seven years now and they had never seen neither hair nor hide of Naruto. Everyone of original rookie nine and Gai's team had been on the lookout when they went out for missions. But they gave up in four or so years later.

But now Sasuke was claiming he heard his voice. Kakashi never thought it had such a huge impact on him. He knew Sasuke was depressed, but he never showed any severe symptoms. But now, after a seven year absence Sasuke's depression seemed to be catching up to him at the end.

"Sasuke, tell me from the beginning, we have to keep this from others until we find something. We don't need everyone excited when the Kazekage is coming and certainly not when the Chuunin exams are coming up," he lazily stretched his back as he got up. "Then shall we go hunting then Sasuke? Explain to me while we're looking."

Sasuke nodded while standing up. He placed the tea cups and plates in the sink before going to the hallway. "Wait until I take a shower and change. I don't want to run around smelling like this."

Kakashi also nodded and took his Icha Icha paradise and started reading and waving his arm lazily. "I'll wait in the living room while you wash up."

Sasuke walked in to the hallway. He looked calm but Kakashi knew that he was anything but that.

The old branch splintered under the weight of the two shinobi as they raced through the trees in the Uchiha compound.

One Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi jumped to the ground at the gate of the Uchiha compound. They had made five rounds around the compound and searched every nook and cranny of the main house.

Sasuke had explained the bizarre event when he had heard his best friend's voice in the hallway and had also said his physical and mental status when he heard it. Kakashi also agreed to his earlier explanation that Sasuke must have been hallucinating because of his weariness.

But one thing both of them knew was that Sasuke 'never' hallucinated. Not even when he was on the verge of dying. But they both kept that idea to themselves and Sasuke agreed that they keep this incident as a secret.

The kazekage was arriving next day and they couldn't afford shinobi running around, especially Konoha's best shinobi.

Kakashi left after they had searched until Satoshi came back from the academy. After that he left commanding Sasuke to be at the bridge next day for their mission. It was a two day mission and they had already wasted one day.

The day went uneventful after that morning excitement but Sasuke was restless. He knew that what Kakashi said was true, but he couldn't get rid of the insisting nagging voice in his head that kept saying he should find Naruto.

Naruto, his friend. His rival. His reason for living. His obsession. And the object of his love.

He didn't know when he started obsessing over Naruto. He had a feeling that it was when they were still genin. But when his former obsession (killing Itachi) resurfaced, Naruto became a nagging feeling in his mind. Constantly there but still he didn't pay attention, not even when Naruto came after him.

When Naruto dragged him back after the whole drama with Madara and Itachi, he didn't have a reason to live, only his goal of rebuilding his clan. But even that was lost to him after he met Madara. He didn't want to rebuild a clan that would only hinder and trouble Konoha. He understood Itachi more now and his reasons for the massacre.

But after a few months, after Naruto became responsible for him and his life, he started to feel what he felt back when he was a genin. When Naruto came early in the morning to greet him with a big grin and breakfast, he started to feel again. He became numb when he left Konoha for missions. It was the only way to survive in the wilderness that was beyond the Konoha gates.

But Naruto's bright grin and sweet presence was his light in the darkness of his mind. Naruto was his driftwood in the stormy seas of his nightmares. Naruto's constant presence was a reminder of what he had lost to his darkness, and what he had learned from that experience.

But during a thunderstorm when Naruto had come to his house because he was too far from his own apartment, he promised himself when he looked at Naruto's form in his futon that he would never loose to his darkness. Naruto was there, he would live for and from Naruto. He didn't need anything else, he didn't want anything else. Naruto was everything to him and he was going to make sure that he was Naruto's everything too.

But then Naruto left. Just when he started to sort out what exactly he felt for his best friend, Naruto had long gone. Then he became numb again, he couldn't feel and he couldn't see. He was nothing and he felt nothing. He was alone again, like he was after the massacre.

Everyone around him wanted to help him, and they wanted him to help them too. Naruto's sudden disappearance was a shock to all of the original rookie nine, Gai's team and the sand siblings. They were all hurting and they wanted to help each other to ease the pain, to Sasuke it meant that they wanted to forget.

Sasuke didn't want to forget, he wanted Naruto back. It was then that all of Naruto's friends saw just how much influence Naruto had over him. He couldn't sleep nor eat. He lived off water for 6 months before Kakashi had taken a stand and demanded what he was doing. He had given a sour look to Kakashi and brushed him off.

But when they had a clue to Naruto's whereabouts he had demanded to be on the search party. But when Tsunade had refused he threatened, cursed, yelled, threw a tantrum, but none phased Tsunade. That was when he decided to go for force.

He had attacked her and it had taken five ANBU to keep him off her and seven more plus Shizune to keep the Hokage from beating the crap out of him. The two of them were the worst affected from Naruto's disappearance. And they both needed to vent their anger, frustration and grief.

They had restricted him again, but when it didn't work they locked him up in his own room, and when even that didn't work and half of the ANBU who had guarded him ended up in hospital they sedated him.

He was like a madman during that first year, but when he realized that they had no clue about Naruto, he closed himself. He didn't open up to anyone, not even when Sakura had threatened to live with him everyday.

And the worst thing was, Naruto hadn't said anything, and they didn't know why exactly he had left. It was if he had left on his own will. They knew it wasn't Akatsuki. The organization was still licking their own wounds after loosing half of their members when the team that had left to get him back had met up with Akatsuki members.

'So what happened', he thought as he got up from the floor he was sitting on. 'What happened to you Naruto? Was it me? Did I disgust you so much that you had to leave the village to escape from me? Was it something else then? I would have given my right arm to protect you.'

They had given up searching after the council's and majority of the village's decision. But they looked for him when they went on missions. But Sasuke didn't recover. He couldn't.

It all changed after he met Satoshi. His numbness disappeared when he started to feel through his son, and that was because Satoshi acted exactly like Naruto. His brightness, innocence and the same big grin he reserved just for Sasuke was exactly the same as Naruto. So he lived through his son, because he couldn't live for his own again. Not when half of him was missing.

'But now he's back, I know he is, I heard his voice, I smelled him, a mixture of wood and crushed mango leaves.' Sasuke was confused, 'Naruto always had a tendency to confuse or aggravate me,' and he smiled ruefully at the memories.

'I wonder where he is now, if he's alive,' he shook his head at that negative thought. 'He is alive, how can someone who is so hell bent on living, die? He won't die until he becomes Hokage.' Sasuke smiled when he remembered how Naruto would shout how he was going to be Hokage, 'that baka kept shouting that even in the middle of a mission!'

He would give his life to hear Naruto's voice again. 'Not like yesterday though, it was one hell of a scare to hear that dobe's voice in the middle of the night.' And now he thought about it, the voice was different.

'It was Naruto's, he was sure of that, but it was deeper and more… sensual.' Sasuke scoffed at the thought. 'As if that blonde baka's voice could be sensual. It's nice when he only talks when needed to, but when he keeps talking non-stop it becomes quite a pain for the ears.'

But now he would give his soul for the shinigami to hear that dobe keep talking to him. To hear Naruto shouting and insulting him. 'But it was too late,' Sasuke sagged next to the wall he was leaning on in the hallway as if weighed by his thoughts, 'it was always too late. Why do you keep making me fell like this Naruto? Do you enjoy tormenting me like this? Are you happy feeding off my guilt and grief like you do now? Tell me, Naruto, why do I love you?'

But there was no reply to him. There was only the whisper of the chilly wind of an autumn night that kept him company. Satoshi went to sleep hours ago, but he was still awake. He couldn't sleep, Naruto's voice kept haunting him in his dreams. Constantly reminding of what he had lost.

"Sasuke-teme… what are you doing Sasuke-teme? I can't believe you're slacking off. I will kick your ass when I come back, dattebayo! Just you wait Sasuke-baka. Then you will know how great Uzumaki Naruto is, dattebayo."

"I know dobe. I'm not slacking off usarontonkachi. I'm just taking a break. I just came from looking for you." Sasuke mumbled as he dragged his feet towards his room.

"Urusai (shut up) Sasuke-teme! Great Uzumaki Naruto isn't like you. I know everything!" Sasuke scoffed at this.

"Who do you think you're insulting teme? I'm the future Hokage dattebayo!"

"You're worse than Sakura, dobe. How can you be Hokage when you can't even walk ten meters without tripping on your own feet?" Sasuke changed his clothes and fell on to his futon and snuggled his pillow.

"Sakura-chan is better than you! And I'm not worse than Sakura-chan, I'm better than her! And don't insult Sakura-chan teme!" at this Sasuke could hear Naruto's obnoxious laughter, Loud and annoying.

Sasuke grumbled and threw the pillow to the edge of the futon, "Urusai usarontonkachi. I'm trying to sleep"

"Hahaha.. Sasuke-teme. Oyasumi (good night)", the last part was said in a soft voice, almost loving.

"Oyasumi, dobe" smiling Sasuke drifted off to sleep, filled with images and voices of his past and a certain blonde haired, blue-eyed boy with a smile that stretched from one ear to the other.

The last thoughts that floated across his sleep filled mind were 'what the hell just happened? I can't believe Kakashi was right, kuso, I am hallucinating. But at least when I'm hallucinating I hear his voice. I'm really desperate.'

Sasuke woke early in the morning to see a sliver of sun rays shining through his curtain covered window and falling on his wooden floor.

He got and after doing the usual morning chores, brushing his teeth and showering, then training for an hour, came back to the house to see his son rummaging through the kitchen cupboards.

"Ohayo (good morning) Satoshi. What exactly are you doing?" Sasuke asked while stifling a yawn.

"Ohayo Otou-sama! I was looking for some jam. You had that strawberry jam right? It's not in the fridge so I thought you might have put it in the cupboard" Satoshi replied while rummaging and dropping a few boxes of flour and some other unrecognizable things. 'Probably left after by Sakura', Sasuke thought with a weary sigh, he suddenly felt very tired.

Then as if after pushing a rewind button he remembered everything that happened after he had tucked Satoshi in to bed. The weariness he felt, his thoughts and most of all, his one sided conversation with the imaginary Naruto.

Satoshi looked at his father when he didn't reply for his question. His father was turning pale, well as pale as you can get when your skin color is also white marble.

'What is going on? Kakashi- sensei came yesterday, he does come often just to bug Otou-sama, but it was different yesterday. I felt it. Is something happening? Maybe trouble from a mission? They go to missions together as Otou-sama said. Hmm.. Probably that.'

"Otou-sama! Daijoubu (are you ok)? You're turning pale." Sasuke turned to see his son's worried face.

"Aa. Daijoubu (I'm fine). The jam's finished Satoshi. I can buy you one today if you want." Satoshi nodded his head eagerly as Sasuke asked that.

"What do you want for breakfast then? Pancakes? I don't have time to make onigiri or chimaki or something like that."

Satoshi nodded his head again and settled on his seat to watch his Otou-sama make him breakfast.

"Are you going on a mission today Otou-sama?" Satoshi asked while fiddling with the end of his shirt. He didn't like it when Sasuke went on missions. And Sasuke knew that, but he tried his best to soothe his son's fears about loosing him.

"Hai, I have a mission today Satoshi." Satoshi's face fell at the prospect of sleeping alone again, its not like that he didn't like Hinata, he felt safer with his father around.

"Demo, I'll be back today afternoon, it's not an important mission, just a delivery of a scroll. Anyway, I need to be here when the Kazekage arrives."

Satoshi looked up, surprised, "Kazekage is coming here? Why? Is something going on? Is it another war? You're not going, are you Otou-sama?" Satoshi's small face was contorted in fear, his big ebony eyes filled with tears and darting around in a panic.

Sasuke smiled at his son, calming him with a small hug. "There's no war Satoshi. The Kazekage is coming for political discussions with the Hokage. Now finish your breakfast quickly or you'll have to face a mad Iruka."

He saw his son's big eyes fill with fear again before he immersed himself into eating the set of pancakes Sasuke had put in front of him.

"Otou-sama you'll be back by evening right?" Satoshi quickly asked before falling flat on his face when his sandals turned inwards.

Sasuke laughed softly before picking up his son and giving a small pat on his head.

"Of course I'll be here by evening. That is if Kakashi wont be late again and we loose time to finish the mission." Sasuke frowned when he thought about Kakashi and his unnatural traits.

"I'm going then Otou-sama. Be careful." Sasuke watched his son wave and run on the cobble path towards the gates.

Then he went inside and packed his bag for his mission. Ten minutes later he was on the same pathway his son had taken and on his way to the team 7 meeting bridge.

"I have a feeling that this mission is also one of those revenge missions Tsunade gives us," he thought with an internal sigh as he met Sakura and Riku on the bridge.

There was no sign of Kakashi anywhere. And they all knew that it'll be hours before they see anything of that man.

VOCAB –

Icha Icha paradise – come come paradise

Dobe- deadlast

Teme- bastard

Usarontonkachi- fool/idiot ( I'm not sure about the spelling tho)

Otou-sama – father

Ja ne- see you later

Ne – right

Kazekage – Sunagakure's Kage or leader is known as the Kazekage

Chuunin exams - Twice every year, a test called the The Chuunin Exams held. This is the exam you must pass if you are to become a Middle Ninja. It's a 3 part test, and held for lower ninjas from any village. If you wish to enter you must have completed a minimum of 8 missions, and given the "OK" from your instructor.

Onigiri – A snack of Japanese rice formed into triangle or oval shapes and often wrapped in nori (edible seaweed)

Chimaki - steamed sweet rice cake

Oyasumi – Goodnight

Ohayo – Good morning

A/N- I'm really sorry for the late update... But its new year here and all that traditional things take time ne?